wrapping it up part 1

2010 was a great year--mostly since i finally made the decision to go back to school and grow up a little bit. i'm not good at documenting my life in pictures though, so i'll use my favorite medium to look back at the year--pop culture.

part 1? the music i loved in 2010.





i'm a huge fan of taylor because her songs are honest, earnest, and she's just so gosh darn likable. did any see her thanksgiving special? it was so fun--i loved getting a behind-the-scenes look. favorites: last kiss, enchanted, speak now, dear john


sara bareilles is easily my favorite musician. i went to her concert back in september--portland was her first stop on the kaleidoscope hear tour!--and was blown away at her amazing-ness. no one writes songs quite like this girl. if you haven't listened to this cd, please do so now. you won't regret it. favorites: hold my heart, basket case, gonna get over you, breathe again (really? i love every song.)

completing my trifecta of favorite female singer-songwriters, ingrid. her lyrics are so sharp and beautiful at the same time. i got this at the very beginning of 2010 and i'm still listening to it. favorites: sort of, are we there yet, everybody


can't leave out glee, right? "forget you" and "poker face" are all-time favorites, but i also love "don't rain on my parade," "take a bow," "i dreamed a dream" and "teenage dream." can't wait to see what they come up with next.

i just bought mumford & sons a month ago so i'm still getting into it, but i love it. it's different from what i normally listen to but the music is so stunning. i love their voices and the music helps my living-in-the-uk fantasy. favorites: awake my soul, after the storm, white blank page



broken bells. part of my goal to listen to different types of music, this album was a great find. i just love how it sounds, that's all. favorites: the high road, the ghost inside



totally an impulse buy, but i ended up loving rihanna's darker sound. this album was definitely all i listened to for a month. favorites: fire bomb, te amo, russian roulette, stupid in love



decided i'd see what all the fuss over paramore was about. i'm not much for screamy music but there's some pretty good stuff on here. that little hayley williams sure can rock. favorites: only exception, brick by boring brick


i just get a kick out of vampire weekend and this album especially. the music is great, but mostly it's just so fun to listen to and i always dance a little bit. which can be weird when i'm alone in the car, but oh well. favorites: white sky, run, holiday, cousins

2010 was a great year for music. what did you love? what are you listening to in 2011? i'm already working through my wishlist with my itunes giftcards. thank you, christmas.

we need a little christmas

all i want to do is relax in front of a few of these movies while i wrap my presents and make a treat or two.

the favorites:


little women


elf


the holiday--and don't you just love iris' little cottage? i'm dying to live in a little place like this




family stone



you've got mail


and these next two aren't technically Christmas movies, but they're magical and i love watching them at this time of the year.


enchanted


stardust


and some old classics i've always been meaning to watch:


holiday inn


meet me in st. louis


white christmas



just noticed that claire danes is in three of these movies. weird? maybe i should just invite her over for Christmas.

All I want for Christmas . . .

a cozy scarf like this one from secret pocket.




clogged boots like these from madewell. or the much more expensive swedish hasbeens.



a pretty, delicate gold necklace like this one from elephantine.



i'm in love with this vintage pajama set from j. crew



i checked this cookbook out from the library and while the recipes look delicious, i really want it for all of the food and health explanations.



i'm totally shocked that i'm saying this, but i think i want an eReader. i love the experience of reading a book, but when i have 10 books checked out from the library at one time, the thought of being able to carry them all in one is very appealing. i actually went in and played with some at borders and that helped win me over. i like the amazon kindle the best, although the touch-screen sonys were nice, too.



the 4th season of FNL, so that i can catch up before the 5th season starts




an itunes giftcard so i can buy some new music, like bruno mars, kings of leon, brandon flowers, and florence + the machine


what are you wishing for?

a little late to the game

i came for the jennifer aniston episode but stayed for the funny. seriously, has everyone seen cougar town but me? i don't know why i wasn't already watching it, seeing as i own all 10 seasons of friends, but i guess i thought it wasn't very good. boy was i wrong.



do yourself a favor and watch this week's halloween episode and prepare to laugh nonstop. the characters are a tad ridiculous, but with a good balance of heart and humor, it's hard not to love. i'm watching the current season and watching it from the beginning on DVD, so it's a little confusing but it is definitely a new fave. as a last-ditch effort to win you over, here's one of my favorite Laurie lines (Busy Phillips, comedic genius)



"owned is when you dominate someone over a long period of time. served is a swift takedown often marked by a dance celebration."

where i've been lately

lately implies recently, but these trips actually happened in august and september, but hey, better late than never, right?

august i made the trip once again to utah, this time with a heavily sedated sister by my side [she'd had some last minute minor surgery and was undriveable, but entertaining none the less] and a mom in a caravan. it was quite the trip. and do i even have to tell you that it was all about the food? we did the old standbys: guru's, zupas, costa vida [where we excited at the same time the football team was entering. what a parade of men! made the mistake of calling my dad to relay the news and he nearly cried at the missed opportunity] and a new favorite: pizzeria 712. i'm sure everyone has already eaten here, but i moved just as it was getting big, so i'm still a newbie. the food was seriously amazing. i had to keep reminding myself i was in provo, and not new york. anybody that can make pickled eggs the best thing i ate all week is pretty awesome.

i also had the pleasure and great fortune of seeing the lovely meg in a wonderful production of romeo and juliet in the park. everyone did a great job and it was so fun to be outside. putting shakespeare in the park on my list of things to see.

september i flew with my sister to oahu to check her into college. we had so much fun and met a lot of great people. driving back to the airport in honolulu from laie, where the school is, was so beautiful. it felt a little bit like being in the jungles on LOST. and how cool is it that the hawaii 5-0 reboot is being filmed in honolulu? more on that later. here's some proof that i was really in hawaii:



temple beach. not as amazing as the beaches down in waikiki and honolulu, but surprisingly empty and peaceful.


the laie temple.


these plants were all over the island and i couldn't get over how much they looked like little birds!


me and mallory on the beach.


we went to the evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center and even though it's a little expensive, i highly recommend it.


mal's dorm.


i need to start planning my next trip. ideas?

i have a blog? oh riiight.

so it turns out that when life gets really busy, i don't blog. i don't know how other people do it, but it's often the last thing on my mind. still, i've been racking up the things i want to blog about so i figured i should make some time.

i had the crazy idea this summer that i should go back to school. i wasn't finding a teaching job and i didn't have anything else going on, so why not? so i did it. i'm back in school full-time, working on my masters in education. it was a rough transition back into a daily schedule and while i'm still grumpy at giving up some [most] of my leisure time, i love that i'm learning and being productive.

i'll be playing catch up for a while, so bear with me while i figure out how to be a full-time student and not lose my mind.

welcome, fall.

fall is my favorite. i love these pictures from my east coast fall. the colors are so amazing and make me want to go back right this second.

pictures circa november 2008, harper's ferry, west virginia and gettysburg, pennsylvania

it's my party and i'll cry if i want to

seeing as it's my birthday, and i'm 24, i'm going to give you a birthday present and tell you 24 things you may or may not know about me.

1. sixteen candles is on tv today. dear john hughes, thank you for the wonderful birthday present.
2. i can almost always correctly predict the time, to the closest minute.
3. i'm worried i have an addiction to striped shirts. when i do my laundry, that's all i'm ever folding.
4. i love dill pickles. i once got a 5 lb. jar of pickles for my birthday. i don't love them that much.
5. my secret dream job is to travel around and interview actors and musicians over delicious brunches. hey, it's my dream job. don't make fun.
6. you've heard of cat ladies? well, i'm going to be a dog lady. i watch dog shows and take notes. at last count, i was at 15 possible dogs.
7. i've been a vegetarian for two weeks. maybe a little too early to be labeling myself?
8. when i can't sleep, i plan out my dream greece vacation. yes, it's basically sisterhood of the mamma mia traveling pants.
9. i can't drive stick. and i'm going to predict that i never will.
10. i do my crosswords in pen. sometimes i even finish them.
11. gps' stress me out, so i have a stack of written out directions in my side door pocket from everywhere i go.
12. i love big band music. natalie cole's unforgettable with love cd is my absolute favorite.
13. i have freckles in the shape of the big dipper and an equilateral triangle on my arm.
14. i can recite the lindsay lohan parent trap beginning to end.
15. i don't understand the twilight phenomenon.
16. i did, however, sit on a bookstore floor for hours waiting for a harry potter book, so i shouldn't judge.
17. i've idolized audrey hepburn for as long as i can remember. i have a huge, framed poster of breakfast at tiffany's over my bed that is my version of a dreamcatcher.
18. since i was a kid, i've had a fascination with the 1940s and World War II. can't wait until they invent time travel, because that's the first place i'll go. jane austen england shortly thereafter.
19. i have crazy, vivid, out-of-left-field dreams almost every night. inception owes me royalties.
20. my mom diagnosed me with lyricosis, the strange disease that causes me to sing the words to songs horribly wrong.
21. i'm quite picky about how the dishwasher is stacked. there's always a more efficient way to get everything in there.
22. when i was a kid, i pretty much thought maryann from the babysitter's club was the coolest ever. after all, she was the only one who had a boyfriend.
23. i love watching procedural crime dramas. i sort of feel like i could be a decent criminal profiler with the amount of stuff i watch. can't be that hard, right?
24. this took me way too long to think of stuff about myself. i think i'm going to take myself out on a date and get to know myself a little bit better.

p.s. dear jake ryans of the world: i'm still waiting for my birthday wish to come true.

and the emmy goes to . . .

can't believe it's that time again, but here we go!

emmys 2010 were great and i think a huge part of that was due to jimmy fallon's great hosting. if you know me at all, you know i'm jimmy's biggest fan. i absolutely loved the opener, which you can watch over and over here. i loved the seemingly random people that kept popping up, except kate gosselin who really should break-up with television.

loved george clooney and his wise words. we need more people like him keeping the spotlight on those in need.

loved the modern family skit. loved that they won. can't wait for it to come back.


and now, the good stuff. or not-so-good, since i'm doing my least favorites first:


anna paquin.
ill-fitting, not the best fabric, and the gold part just doesn't work.


keri russell.
it pains me to say anything bad about keri because i just love her so much, but she could have done so much better. it's not fancy enough for the emmys, and the top does not fit. that being said, everyone watch her new show, running wilde on fox this fall!


tina fey.
when i first saw this, i really disliked it, but now that i've been looking at it, it's not so bad. her hair and makeup is gorgeous, and the dress fits her beautifully. it's just a little weird.


heidi klum.
all right, heidi, we know you have a killer body AND you've had 4 kids. you don't need to prove it to us. a few inches more wouldn't hurt.


lea michele.
she looks amazing. my only comment is that i wish she had done something a little younger, or more fun. but i think the dress is beautiful and the jewelry is great.


kyra sedgwick.
aside from the too-messy hair, she looks stunning. this dress is so beautiful. the color and the pleating? love.


kristen wiig.
yes, it's weird, but so is she. it works for her. and i kind of secretly wish i could wear it too.


kim kardashian.
so proud of her! she looks stunning. classy and so flattering.


julie bowen.
i'm a sucker for ruffles and folds and all things feminine like that. not to mention that it's navy blue and it might just be my favorite.


emily blunt and john krasinski.
i know i've said it before, but i wish these newlyweds were my friends. can you imagine the game nights? seriously though, he looks dashing and she looks so lovely. the color is great, and her vintage-y hair and makeup looked beautiful.


january jones.
a lot of people were hating on this, but she was nominated, so she went big and i think it's amazing. i think her hair is different but it works and the only thing i would change is the shoes.


jayma mays.
wow! since we really only see her all buttoned up on glee, this is quite a change! stunning!


mariska hargitay.
simple, but gorgeous.


nina dobrev.
this girl is on one of my fave new shows, vampire diaries. and she did great in the opener, i didn't know she could sing! i think this look is a little old for her, but she looks beautiful.


dianna agron.
love this, minus one tier of the dress. she's gorgeous though, so she could pretty much wear anything.


claire danes.
when she walked on stage to present, i was blown away. her hair and makeup are flawless, the dress fit amazingly and she just glowed. she won the emmy and she won my best dressed.


what did you think?